人類和猴子的急性子都是從嬰兒時代就明顯表現(xiàn)出來了,，是日后精神病理學(xué)的一個重要風(fēng)險因素,，并且已知是可以遺傳的,。在一項將成像方法與遺傳學(xué)方法結(jié)合起來的大型研究中，Oler等人對與這一特征相關(guān)的神經(jīng)回路以及這個回路的功能的可遺傳程度進行了定性,。
研究中采用了超過200只來自同一個家系的猴子,，在將這些猴子置于一個輕度緊張情境中之后，他們用正子發(fā)射斷層掃描技術(shù)對其進行了掃描,。扁桃體和海馬體中的活動程度都能指示性情,，但海馬體活動的可遺傳性大于扁桃體活動的可遺傳性。這表明,，在急性子中,，基因和環(huán)境對這兩個區(qū)域的功能可能有不同影響。這個發(fā)現(xiàn)也為焦慮癥和抑郁癥的遺傳風(fēng)險提供了新的見解,。（生物谷Bioon.com）
生物谷推薦原文出處：
Nature doi:10.1038/nature09282
Amygdalar and hippocampal substrates of anxious temperament differ in their heritability
Jonathan A. Oler,Andrew S. Fox,Steven E. Shelton,Jeffrey Rogers,Thomas D. Dyer,Richard J. Davidson,Wendy Shelledy,Terrence R. Oakes,John Blangero& Ned H. Kalin
Anxious temperament (AT) in human and non-human primates is a trait-like phenotype evident early in life that is characterized by increased behavioural and physiological reactivity to mildly threatening stimuli1, 2, 3, 4. Studies in children demonstrate that AT is an important risk factor for the later development of anxiety disorders, depression and comorbid substance abuse5. Despite its importance as an early predictor of psychopathology, little is known about the factors that predispose vulnerable children to develop AT and the brain systems that underlie its expression. To characterize the neural circuitry associated with AT and the extent to which the function of this circuit is heritable, we studied a large sample of rhesus monkeys phenotyped for AT. Using 238 young monkeys from a multigenerational single-family pedigree, we simultaneously assessed brain metabolic activity and AT while monkeys were exposed to the relevant ethological condition that elicits the phenotype. High-resolution 18F-labelled deoxyglucose positron-emission tomography (FDG–PET) was selected as the imaging modality because it provides semi-quantitative indices of absolute glucose metabolic rate, allows for simultaneous measurement of behaviour and brain activity, and has a time course suited for assessing temperament-associated sustained brain responses. Here we demonstrate that the central nucleus region of the amygdala and the anterior hippocampus are key components of the neural circuit predictive of AT. We also show significant heritability of the AT phenotype by using quantitative genetic analysis. Additionally, using voxelwise analyses, we reveal significant heritability of metabolic activity in AT-associated hippocampal regions. However, activity in the amygdala region predictive of AT is not significantly heritable. Furthermore, the heritabilities of the hippocampal and amygdala regions significantly differ from each other. Even though these structures are closely linked, the results suggest differential influences of genes and environment on how these brain regions mediate AT and the ongoing risk of developing anxiety and depression.
